Everything is funded through donations, since the society receives no federal support.

With so many families in need, St. Vincent said it needs the community’s help.

On Saturday, Sept. 24, St. Vincent is hosting the fourth annual Friends of the Poor Walk. The walk starts at 8 a.m. at the Edward Jones office in the Sawmill Crossing.

The non-competitive event is a major fund-raiser for the group, said Penny Dorgan, with St. Vincent.

“All the money raised by the event will be used directly to help those in need in the Rim Country,” she said.

Dave and Tammy say they never thought they would wind up homeless.

Since their teens, both have held jobs regularly. Dave has worked mostly in the construction and trucking fields.

Alexis Bechman/Roundup

Dave and Tammy, along with their three children, are living in a tent along the East Verde River. Payson’s St. Vincent de Paul Society offers assistance to those in need, but finds itself desperately in need of help from the community.

Both have worked consistently in the past. However, when the construction business came to a screeching halt, everything unraveled.

Dave worked at several more jobs, including one at a furniture store, where he acquired the one luxury the family still has — a $1,500 mattress Dave and Tammy share with their 1-, 2- and 7-year-old children in the tent.

Their eldest son’s birthday is Saturday, but the couple has no money for a present. Luckily, Dave has found quite a few geodes in the area that the boy marvels over.

When things really slowed down in Georgia, the couple decided to head west to Phoenix where Tammy’s brother and grandparents live.

Within eight hours of arriving in the Valley, Dave had a job. But when the heating and cooling gig ended a few weeks later, nothing else came up. The couple had enough money to stay in a hotel for a week and during that time applied for jobs in the Valley. Dave even sat at a day laborer office, but got no offers.

With eight adults and children already staying in Tammy’s grandparents’ three-bedroom home, there was no room for them.

To escape the searing temperatures, the couple came to Payson.

“Well, the good news is you don’t have to pay rent or utilities out here,” Ed said.

The bad news: being five miles out of town the couple’s SUV eats up a lot of gas.

“I have three dollars to my name,” Dave said.

Ed and Lynn said the first thing they can offer the couple is a gas card, which should give them enough money to continue looking for work.

The food bank has already provided the family with a food box and diapers.

While the society will help anyway it can, it never hands over cash.

If someone needs help to pay a propane bill, they write the check. The same goes for any other bill.

Volunteers prescreen everyone to verify their situation and need.

While money may be needed to keep the lights on, there is normally something bigger going on in their life, said Deacon Ed Burgin.

“When we meet people we try to understand what the issue is and maybe help them step backwards and see what is going on,” he said.

“If we can help people look more realistically at their choices, we can help them take a different direction, but other times, people need to hit rock bottom before they will change,” Dorgan said.

“They want to survive today, but we want them to survive the whole year,” she said.

Dorgan said she doesn’t believe anyone purposely falls short in life.

“I really think everyone does the best they can at any given time,” she said, “but sometimes things really do fall apart and we are there to help.”

But who is helping the food bank meet the demand?

A larger St. Vincent food bank in the Valley used to supply food at a discounted price, but those shipments are few and far between.

Payson’s society used to receive 12 pallets of food for $300, not including shipping costs from the Valley. Now they receive a fraction of that and are having to make up the difference at local supermarkets.

“It costs a lot more to buy locally,” Closs said.

The group used to spend $500 a month on local groceries, but is now spending $3,000.

To sustain this, the group needs donations.

If you would like to register to walk, sponsor a walker, make a donation or get more information on the walk, call Lynn at (928) 474-1347 or Ed at (928) 468-8595.